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(CBS2Chicago.com)   US Congressman says he's a victim of racial profiling. "Victim," of course, meaning "I'm a member of Congress--I ought to be able to violate traffic laws whenever I want"   (cbs2chicago.com) divider line
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1422 clicks; posted to Politics » on 22 Nov 2007 at 9:01 PM (15 years ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



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miseducated
2007-11-22 3:58:07 PM  
Submitter, are YOU aware of which traffic laws Rep. Davis violated?

I was ready to jump all over a pulled race card, until I read the article. There is no way to draw a conclusion over whether the officer made a reasonable and valid traffic stop, or Rep. Davis was indeed pulled over on a DWB.

You extrapolated to reach your own conclusion.
 
Sensei Can You See [TotalFark]
2007-11-22 4:12:44 PM  
miseducated: Submitter, are YOU aware of which traffic laws Rep. Davis violated?

FTFA: "The congressman said he was driving three friends home early Monday morning when two white Chicago police officers pulled him over and said he had swerved over the center line before making a left turn from Kedzie onto Douglas Boulevard."

So the guy got a $75 ticket and a court summons, but he's already sniveling about being profiled? If he didn't swerve over the line and he really thinks he's got a case, he ought to show up in court with a TV crew and dare the police to prove their case.

I have the feeling some dashboard cam footage is going to surface soon showing this butthead--surprise!--swerving over the center line.
 
miseducated
2007-11-22 4:22:40 PM  
SquirrelsOfDoom: So the guy got a $75 ticket and a court summons, but he's already sniveling about being profiled? If he didn't swerve over the line and he really thinks he's got a case, he ought to show up in court with a TV crew and dare the police to prove their case

We don't know if he did or didn't. It's not the traffic offense he was charged with that's the problem. It's the possibility that the police used a minor traffic offense (Again, which we don't know actually happened, either way) as a digging tool to find larger offenses - Drug possession, outstanding warrants, etc. And people in Chicago (Toronto as well, mind you) have the impression that the police are doing this to blacks on a disproportionate basis.

This has happened to three friends of mine in the last 3 years (Two with violent results; one of those two in a massive lawsuit), and if we were to draw up a matrix of which friends or family members of theirs this has happened to, it does not draw a good picture of police as impartial and unbiased.

I'll wait until this bears out in court before making my mind up one way or another. I'm saying that Submitter should have done the same, instead of writing this troll-tastic headline.
 
Sensei Can You See [TotalFark]
2007-11-22 4:25:53 PM  
miseducated: It's the possibility that the police used a minor traffic offense (Again, which we don't know actually happened, either way) as a digging tool to find larger offenses - Drug possession, outstanding warrants, etc.

Uh--if the police had tried to upsell the charges don't you think the Congresscritter would already be screaming bloody murder about it?

Check back with me in a week or so--like I said, I think this is either going to go the Cynthia McKinney route or just go away when the video footage surfaces.
 
BunkyBrewman [TotalFark]
2007-11-22 4:52:44 PM  
59 percent of African-Americans believe they've been racially profiled in traffic stops by police.

100 percent of the rest of the world believe you're being whiny little biatches who need to stop bellyaching about events you've only read about.

/treats others as I wish they would treat me
//has no time for the constant race baiting
 
z_gringo
2007-11-22 4:55:06 PM  
swerved over the center line before making a left turn

That sounds like bullshiat to me.
 
miseducated
2007-11-22 5:01:47 PM  
SquirrelsOfDoom: Uh--if the police had tried to upsell the charges don't you think the Congresscritter would already be screaming bloody murder about it?

I dunno, ask this guy.

Or this guy.

Both known to me, and both have the same story. Police looked for the most minor of reasons to detain, and then escalated the situation unnecessarily. In the second scenario, they beat, harassed, and deliberately planted cocaine on the plaintiff.

So one of two things has happened with this Davis issue. Either the police made a genuine traffic stop and Davis is crying wolf and pulling the race card, or the police pulled the vehicle over on a BS traffic infraction (Swerving over the center line before a turn?!) with intent to probe further, and then wisely backed off when they figured out who they were dealing with.

Again, we'll see.
 
miseducated
2007-11-22 6:35:44 PM  
Oh wonderful. Greenlighted. I eagerly await the balanced and non-race-baiting comments that are sure to follow.
 
flaEsq
2007-11-22 6:43:31 PM  
IOKIYAR
 
Mythy
2007-11-22 7:32:43 PM  
It is just whining, people get pulled over all the time for things like plate light out or other trivia charges and they aren't ALL black. If you happen to be black you always have the 'ace in the hole' in the race card the rest of us aren't allowed to use.
 
Born2late
2007-11-22 7:47:21 PM  
Police are always trolling for DUIs late at night. If you drive between 10-3, you're just asking for it.

Doubt race had much to do with it. Unless he was smiling in the review mirror.
 
AntiNorm
2007-11-22 7:47:28 PM  
submitter: US Congressman says he's a victim of racial profiling. "Victim," of course, meaning "I'm a member of Congress--I ought to be able to violate traffic laws whenever I want"


I've seen this exact attitude from quite a few people here on Fark. Just look at the posts in a thread that deals with speeding or red light cameras. Hell, I have even seen people here defend driving drunk (!).
 
SkinnyHead
2007-11-22 7:53:58 PM  
"Anecdotal evidence and empirical studies confirm that what most people suspect and what many people of color know from experience is a reality: there is an undeniable correlation between law enforcement stop-and-search practices and the racial characteristics of the driver. ... The practice is so prevalent, it has a name: 'Driving while Black.'" ~ Janice Rogers Brown.
 
Mugato [TotalFark]
2007-11-22 8:38:33 PM  
I get pulled over at least once a month during unconstitutional DUI checkpoints. The point being that cops can do whatever the fark they want to do. Sometimes it's racially motivated, sometimes it's just random. And if you have the balls to say anything about it, you get tasered and wind up in a Fark article.

/fark da police
//fark
///fark
////fark da police
 
Mars232
2007-11-22 9:17:00 PM  
Mugato: I get pulled over at least once a month during unconstitutional DUI checkpoints. The point being that cops can do whatever the fark they want to do. Sometimes it's racially motivated, sometimes it's just random. And if you have the balls to say anything about it, you get tasered and wind up in a Fark article.

/fark da police
//fark
///fark
////fark da police

Exactly,most black people dont understand that the police can do whatever the fark they want and get away with it. They are not special and need to STFU and GBTW. The stories I could tell about the police are absolutely insane and they all stem from cops LOVING to be the biggest pricks in the universe.

//something about absolute power or something
///to bad there isn't some sort of hotline where the ACTUALLY investigate corrupt cops and PROSECUTE them for crimes
////hidden cameras and youtube are about as close as you can get to keeping tabs and accountability on these pricks
 
d'art
2007-11-22 9:28:34 PM  
"Swerving across the center line" is usually code for "I want to see if this guy's drunk, but I've got no probable cause."

Protip: everybody grazes the line every few miles. An officer merely has to follow someone for a few minutes to make up a phony probable cause. I bet if they pulled the tapes, it'd show the cop following the guy for an inordinate amount of time before pulling him over.
 
Your Faith is Creepy
2007-11-22 9:29:20 PM  
Mars232: most black people dont understand that the police can do whatever the fark they want and get away with it . . .

How the fark do you know what "most black people" understand?

Farking racist.
 
LargeCanine
2007-11-22 9:30:18 PM  
Driving while black

""Various black "leaders" and supposed friends of blacks have in recent years been pushing the idea that "driving while black" is enough to get the cops to pull you over for one flimsy reason or another."

"Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute wrote a book titled "Are Cops Racist?" which examined the empirical evidence behind similar claims."

"The evidence did not support the claims that had been widely publicized in the media. But her study was largely ignored by the media. Maybe it would have spoiled their stories."
 
Hector Remarkable
2007-11-22 9:31:12 PM  
But did he hand him a card that said he was a Congressman and say "What do you think about that?".
 
Murkanen
2007-11-22 9:31:15 PM  
SquirrelsOfDoom:

Check back with me in a week or so--like I said, I think this is either going to go the Cynthia McKinney route or just go away when the video footage surfaces.

If the video shows that the Congresscritter wasn't doing what the cops claimed he was doing, then chances are it'll never show up. Excluding the race issue, which is a possibility no matter how 'rare' it may be, it still sounds like another case of jackass cops on a power trip making the already less-than-stellar image of the average cop tank a few levels more.
 
Mars232
2007-11-22 9:33:55 PM  
Your Faith is Creepy: Mars232: most black people dont understand that the police can do whatever the fark they want and get away with it . . .

How the fark do you know what "most black people" understand?

Farking racist.

You OBVIOUSLY didnt read the poll a little farther up,OR have ever talked to black people.

//I have known TONS of black people(I have black cousins dipshiat)
///stick your phony racists crap up your ass
////you wouldnt know racism if it strapped you to a bumper and road hauled you
 
The_Gallant_Gallstone
2007-11-22 9:37:38 PM  
Mars322: Don't worry... Your Faith is Creepy accepts apologies.
i232.photobucket.comView Full Size


/apologize...
 
Mars232
2007-11-22 9:38:49 PM  
The_Gallant_Gallstone: Mars322: Don't worry... Your Faith is Creepy accepts apologies.


/apologize...

HA!
 
Killer Miller
2007-11-22 9:46:21 PM  
Did they search his freezer?
 
muck4doo
2007-11-22 10:00:16 PM  
My tags expired at the beginning of the month. I'm going to re-new them when I get my next check. I'm hoping to play the "Driving While Mexican" card before then and try to sue the city for tons of money.
 
Time Traveler
2007-11-22 10:06:21 PM  
Not long ago I was driving thru Downey, CA and got pulled over. Since I am white I did not expect this All I got was a fix it ticket for no gas cap. I had to get a gas cap & have the ticket signed off by a cop & take it to traffic court. I was not aware how bad black & Mexican drivers were until I got to traffic court. I was the only white guy there, every one else was black of Mexican. It came as a big surprise that they were all such bad drivers. So the traffic stop in this article is certainly no surprise to me!!
 
mrmopar5287 [TotalFark]
2007-11-22 10:14:41 PM  
two white Chicago police officers pulled him over and said he had swerved over the center line before making a left turn

I'm not gonna draw a MSpaint diagram, so I'll describe as best as I can:

Lots of left turns have the center lines take a semi-sharp jag left to open up a left turn lane. This guy probably rounded off the corner - both his left wheels probably rolled right over (or inside) of the center line where it jogged left to open up that turn lane.

As much as everyone does it, it's technically an extremely minor violation of the motor vehicle code in Illinois. But once the cop saw that it was pretty respectable and law-abiding people in the car, it was a dick thing to give anything more than a verbal warning.

The think that tingles my spidey-sense is that this guy probably got a ticket because either:
1) His MVD record was spotty. Yes, police do ticket people more often who have crappy driving records. That's how the police try to get them to straighten up and drive straight, because traffic infractions come from being either lazy or irresponsible. If you can't or won't follow the rules of the road, the police have the responsibility to try to get you off the roads somehow.
2) The congressman was a dick when he was stopped. That'll get you a ticket right-away, if you have a bad attitude.

My guess as to the outcome of this case is that the court might pull a "dismissed due to lack of evidence" thing to save face. They'd never get a conviction if this guy lawyered up, and has his witnesses in the car testify he was driving straight.
 
JudgeReinhold
2007-11-22 10:41:24 PM  
My wife was pulled over for crossing the white line during the night. It happens, especially in the night time when cops are looking for the drunks.

Minor inconvenience. She did not receive a ticket. That decision is the cop's sole discretion.

I was angry at her since I told her a cop was following her. I mean, really, who can't stay in between the lines? Further, why would you break any traffic law with a cop trailing?
 
axd
2007-11-22 11:11:12 PM  
I'm with the "there's no way to tell" group.

But as far as the people saying that it's stupid to swerve over the line:
He was about to make a left turn. While driving other people home. "No, not this left, the next left." That makes it pretty easy to swerve over the line.
 
sirgrim [OhFark]
2007-11-22 11:16:32 PM  
We should profile all congresspeople. Obviously crooks. A congressperson stole my bike once.
 
LordJiro [OhFark]
2007-11-22 11:20:44 PM  
sirgrim: We should profile all congresspeople. Obviously crooks. A congressperson stole my bike once.

Wonder if it was the same one who kicked my puppy.
 
sirgrim [OhFark]
2007-11-22 11:30:40 PM  
LordJiro:

Wonder if it was the same one who kicked my puppy.

Probably. They all look the same.
 
Smart Ass
2007-11-22 11:55:15 PM  
miseducated
Misidentified country.

/click your ruby heels together....
 
Smart Ass
2007-11-22 11:57:25 PM  
I was stopped because I was a Newt!

/well. I got better...
 
miseducated
2007-11-23 12:02:14 AM  
Smart Ass: Misidentified country.

I pointed out that both incidents took place in the greater Toronto area. The point was that police do purposely do these things.
 
drjekel_mrhyde
2007-11-23 12:11:45 AM  
I live in this guys district and I can't stand him or my alderman Emma Watts these two are highly farking unless corrupt pieces of shiat
//Chicago politics have nothing to do with morals or good ideas but with political last names
 
chu2dogg
2007-11-23 12:19:06 AM  
I'm one that seriously doubt's the DWB card. As a young white male, I am the embodiment of what every cop hates. They hate me cuz i live the life they wish they were living, and do whatever is in their power to bust my balls.

We need to stop looking for the race issue in everything and all agree on one thing, cops are generally assholes to everyone. Once we agree on that maybe we can move togethor in fixing it?
 
drjekel_mrhyde
2007-11-23 12:19:52 AM  
miseducated: Submitter, are YOU aware of which traffic laws Rep. Davis violated?

I was ready to jump all over a pulled race card, until I read the article. There is no way to draw a conclusion over whether the officer made a reasonable and valid traffic stop, or Rep. Davis was indeed pulled over on a DWB.

You extrapolated to reach your own conclusion.

I'm black also and Danny K is a dick I live here in his district
 
Bored Horde
2007-11-23 12:55:35 AM  
chu2dogg: I'm one that seriously doubt's the DWB card. As a young white male, I am the embodiment of what every cop hates. They hate me cuz i live the life they wish they were living, and do whatever is in their power to bust my balls.

We need to stop looking for the race issue in everything and all agree on one thing, cops are generally assholes to everyone. Once we agree on that maybe we can move togethor in fixing it?

Except that in many major urban areas, people with dark skin really are deliberately targeted. The justification of this focus on minorities is murky.
 
illspirit
2007-11-23 1:01:37 AM  
Considering some of the videos and pics of white female bartenders, school teachers, and such who were beaten half to death by the police in Chicago, I was under the impression they were "racist" against pretty much everyone who isn't wearing blue. But we can't let that get in the way of a good game of race card poker, now, can we?
 
steamingpile
2007-11-23 1:44:25 AM  
miseducated: We don't know if he did or didn't. It's not the traffic offense he was charged with that's the problem. It's the possibility that the police used a minor traffic offense (Again, which we don't know actually happened, either way) as a digging tool to find larger offenses - Drug possession, outstanding warrants, etc. And people in Chicago (Toronto as well, mind you) have the impression that the police are doing this to blacks on a disproportionate basis.

This has happened to three friends of mine in the last 3 years (Two with violent results; one of those two in a massive lawsuit), and if we were to draw up a matrix of which friends or family members of theirs this has happened to, it does not draw a good picture of police as impartial and unbiased.

I'll wait until this bears out in court before making my mind up one way or another. I'm saying that Submitter should have done the same, instead of writing this troll-tastic headline.

He was pulled over for swerving, which is how most duis get nailed, the guy wasnt pulled over cause of his skin color.

All of these idiots screaming they were pulled over cause they are black usually just drive like shiat. Quit driving like shiat and you wont get so many tickets.
 
Recall all Repuglikkkans
2007-11-23 7:15:08 AM  
SkinnyHead: "Anecdotal evidence and empirical studies confirm that what most people suspect and what many people of color know from experience is a reality: there is an undeniable correlation between law enforcement stop-and-search practices and the racial characteristics of the driver. ... The practice is so prevalent, it has a name: 'Driving while Black.'" ~ Janice Rogers Brown.

Can't stand her. What kind of self-respecting African American, let alone woman, manages to get her appointed by the Bush administration? And no, Condoleezza doesn't count. Albright did more for blacks than having people like Rice and Powell in power ever will.
 
portscanner
2007-11-23 8:03:16 AM  
Somebody please post the Chris Rock video

OBEY THE LAW
 
jso2897
2007-11-23 8:28:19 AM  
Mythy: It is just whining, people get pulled over all the time for things like plate light out or other trivia charges and they aren't ALL black. If you happen to be black you always have the 'ace in the hole' in the race card the rest of us aren't allowed to use.

I'm not so sure. I'm white, but back in the sixties and seventies, when I was a longhaired hippie, I couldn't drive five blocks without getting pulled over and hassled and rousted. It is difficult to believe that cops would do that to white folks just because they dress funny, but that black folks would somehow be exempt from it. Of course, it's not probably not usually the case, but I think it would be silly to say that it doesn't happen, or even that it is especially rare.


steamingpile: He was pulled over for swerving, which is how most duis get nailed, the guy wasnt pulled over cause of his skin color

IF the cops are telling the truth. While I do not wish to forever shatter your rather quaint world-view, I must point out that cops do lie. In fact, they lie a lot. Sorry about that.
 
luidprand
2007-11-23 8:42:44 AM  
jso2897

Driving While Hippy - that should be an actual crime.

"Clearly, the defendant was not only stoned, but was also a political idiot."

I've had many black friends pulled over for DWB in Oak Park/Forest Park, but the funny thing is, all of them were horrible drivers.
 
jso2897
2007-11-23 8:56:11 AM  
luidprand: jso2897

Driving While Hippy - that should be an actual crime.

"Clearly, the defendant was not only stoned, but was also a political idiot."

I've had many black friends pulled over for DWB in Oak Park/Forest Park, but the funny thing is, all of them were horrible drivers.

You do have a point there - but I must point out subsequent events. A job came along, I cut my hair, put on straight clothes. And somehow, miraculously, OVERNIGHT, I became a FAR better driver. Even though I was the exact same guy, driving the exact same horrible POS car, I was driving so much better that the cops NEVER found it necessary to pull me over any more. And I do think it odd that merely taking a haircut would work such a drastic improvement on my driving skills.
Let's face it - cops pull over and roust people when they don't like the way they look, even if they've done nothing wrong. Anyone who thinks they don't is hopelessly naive, and it would be silly to belabor the point.
Good cops rarely do it, and even the crummy ones don't do it all the time - but it does happen, and denial on the subject does not alter that reality.

I should also point out that while I was a hippie, I was never "hippy" - I have always taken great pains to maintain my svelt and boyish figure. :D
 
mrmopar5287 [TotalFark]
2007-11-23 9:44:07 AM  
Bored Horde: Except that in many major urban areas, people with dark skin really are deliberately targeted. The justification of this focus on minorities is murky.

Perhaps because they commit more crimes than white people?

steamingpile: All of these idiots screaming they were pulled over cause they are black usually just drive like shiat. Quit driving like shiat and you wont get so many tickets.
luidprand: I've had many black friends pulled over for DWB in Oak Park/Forest Park, but the funny thing is, all of them were horrible drivers.

THIS
 
jso2897
2007-11-23 10:04:57 AM  
I hate Illinois Nazis.
 
Nemo's Brother
2007-11-23 11:44:01 AM  
The Democrats can't accomplish anything without forcing a self-inflicted guilt upon the masses.
 
pipettemonkey
2007-11-23 11:44:57 AM  
I'm a bit late, but steamingpile and born2late are correct. When I was working late shifts I'd frequently drive home around 3-4 am. Almost every third time a cop passed me going the other way, he'd pull a quick U-turn and tail me hoping to get an infraction. The one time I was pulled over (burnt out tail-light), I was subjected to a barrage of DUI tests. It's laughable. Not a drop of liquor in my system and the cop said "I detect the presence of alcohol" as soon as I rolled the window down.

That late at night, and cops will pull you over for ANYTHING thinking they might get a DUI bust. Most times they'll let you go if you're clean. I'd imagine this guy gave some attitude and the cop hit him with a lane violation just to be a dick.

/It ain't right, but it ain't racism either.
 
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